U N I T 4

A T Y P E O F C E L E B R I T Y

Brainstorming Celebrities

I began by selecting a number of celebrities who inspire and interest me. Making sure to think about people who are not just pop stars or reality TV stars but chefs, historic people and artists. I noted down detailed characteristics and aspects of each individual from what they are famous for, to what their speech is like and what they wear - what makes them different to other celebrities.

It was important for me not only to brand each individual using colours and a suitable typeface but to really push the boundaries exploring materials a concept that embodied their personality and way of life.

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Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder, my first choice is known for his soul/pop/r&b music and is extremely famous throughout the world. Wonder, who is blind and from Michigan, USA made me think of bright colours like yellow and purple with a sleek and sophisticated type. I liked the idea of linking my designs to braille which although very straight forward an idea, I felt allowed people like Stevie himself to feel the card in their hands and experience the design for themselves.

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Developing a further outcome

For the additional publication that would be created and presented alongside the business card, I decided to create a CD case which would carry through the use of braille and be targeted to blind people in particular. My intention was to have this as a CD for one of Stevie's most famous singles 'Isn't she lovely' and would feature lyrics in braille aswell as English. Again, the creamy yellow and grey colour scheme would be used as on the business cards.

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Prototype Crit Feedback

Talking about my work and showing my classmates my current experiments with design for each business card was incredibly helpful as it allowed me to see the faults of each card and where it could be altered to be more successful. The idea of advertising Leonardo DiCaprio as someone who has not won an Oscar was not a favoured one as it branded the Oscars rather than DiCaprio as a person. Moving on from this I chose to brainstorm further a different celebrity. People liked the Stevie Wonder designs as they reflected his personality in a professional way and the braille added an extra texture and dimension to the card.

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Once the final design had been realised, I printed a number of business cards and CDs out to check the colour and sizing of the text. I printed on a few types of card and began learning how to create my own braille. This was difficult as depending on the thickness of card and the point I used to poke through, the braille was easier or more difficult to feel.

Selecting Celebrities

Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay, a Scottish chef who works predominantly in the UK and USA owns a number of restaurants which have been awarded numerous michelin stars. When first thinking of Ramsay I immediately identify his strong language and high volume of speech - something he is famously notorious for - saying things how they are. This lead me to creating preliminary designs which focused on handwritten text at large sizes, to show his volume. Using a colour palette of just black and white, as Ramsay talks in black and white was a key theme for me.

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Developing a further outcome

Items which related to cooking and Ramsay being a chef became my next idea for the additional material. I looked at packaging design for food ingredients as well as menus and designs of restaurant interior. Keen to focus on branding I looked at ways to brand Ramsay whilst incorporating the packaging design element and decided to make Gordon Ramsay the actual product.

Although all of these designs I felt had potential to be successful I felt I needed to experiment with the sizing of the type to show the volume which he uses when speaking. I went on to stretching his name out beyond the edges of the card. One side of the card was stylistic and in your face but I wanted to show his professional side too, who is a skill full chef creating food that is a work of art.

Leonardo Dicaprio

A famous American actor known for playing leading actor in a selection of very successful movie productions and being versatile in the roles he plays was my third choice of celebrity. Well known for being an outstanding actor Dicaprio has surprisingly never won an Oscar Award. I wanted to brand Dicaprio using a sleek and sophisticated design whilst mocking this lack of Award by advertising it as one of his selling points.

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The designs for these stayed minimal with a gold and black colour scheme to portray his sleek style and tone of acting. If taken further these would be hand letter pressed or screenprinted. I tried a number of designs some of which I liked with a gold border.

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Changing Celebrity

Moving out of the acting and singing profession I wanted to create a piece which was more youthful whilst keeping the gold and black palette. Tyga, an American rapper famous for his tattoos stood out to me. I planned to brand him as a tattoo artist and create the exterior view of 'his' tattoo parlour.